


Within Her

by art_by_daphneblithe, jeffthemermaid



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drug Abuse, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Femslash, Friendship, Happy Ending, Lesbian Sex, Love, Male-Female Friendship, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Pepper Potts Feels, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Pepper Potts, Semi-Public Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 12:05:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/art_by_daphneblithe/pseuds/art_by_daphneblithe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeffthemermaid/pseuds/jeffthemermaid
Summary: Pepper and Natasha explore the struggles of intimacy, honesty and openness.Angst, with a happy, smutty ending.





	Within Her

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, a big thank you to art_by_daphneblithe who created the beautiful artwork that inspired this fic. It is stunning, and I loved writing for it so much.  
> Then, of course, a massive thank you to the mods who ran this collection, they are amazing!  
> Last but not least, I want to acknowledge and thank my wonderful betas.  
> Chiefly etrix, who was a godsend, as well as Gavilan and SpaceTrash for all of their valued help.
> 
> It takes a village people!
> 
> NSFW art at top so scroll with care, pals!

Natasha Romanoff's first trip as an Avenger to the small country of England was an extremely eventful one. Their mission was saving the world, again, and they did achieve a relatively predictable but exceptionally physically and psychologically damaging success. Due to the extent of the team’s injuries, Steve and Thor’s obsession with seeing all the ancient castles and sites around the country and Tony’s deteriorating mental health, the Avengers hunkered down and settled into London for their much-needed recovery.

As well as the team, a handful of other non-essential crew were living in luxury at one of London’s finest hotels, courtesy of Stark Enterprises’ nearly unlimited funds. One of the few of those staying with them who was unable to participate with relaxing or holidaying, was the eternally loyal Pepper Potts.

Pepper had flown in with the express intent of spending some quality time with her deeply closed-off and yet surprisingly loving girlfriend. Despite this intent, she found herself tending more to her life-long friend and responsibility, the deeply traumatized and increasingly unstable Tony Stark.

Natasha Romanoff, the quietest and most observant of the group could see how much Tony needed Pepper to be there for him, and she held no grudge. However, it wasn’t long before the perceptive redhead noticed her lover struggling to keep Tony’s head above water, and subsequently sinking alongside him.  

How Natasha had wound up with Pepper couldn’t be pinpointed by anyone outside of the two of them. Each woman was enamoured with the other for different reasons. Pepper was honest with herself and with Natasha about the intimacies of her attraction, whereas Nat kept these sorts of private feelings well-guarded.

Pepper knew she was a reserved woman, but she was also humorous and considerably more open than her significant other. She had told Natasha her sweet thoughts and attraction on several different occasions, often when they were lying together bathed in nothing but moonlight.

Long before this trip, the first time she met Nat, Pepper had still been trying to fix Tony and give him her heart. Despite her affection for him however, she couldn’t help the surge of attraction she felt as the redhead dominated Happy in the boxing ring. She had, of course, noticed Natasha’s sex appeal immediately, but more than that she noticed a deeper allure. Eventually, it was her growing affection for Natasha that helped her heal from years of loving Tony. It helped her become his greatest friend despite the failure of their romantic relationship. Nat commanded any room she was in with her quiet and stoic strength. And beneath her stunning exterior, Pepper had sensed danger lurking, and beneath that, great suffering.   

Pepper was always at the Avengers Tower. She even had an office there from which she ran Stark Enterprises. She often joined the crew when they returned from missions, celebrating with them or consoling them after a rare defeat or less than satisfactory completion. She was more of a secretary to some than she’d like, booking appointments, arranging meetings and supplying Band-Aids. The one person who never made her feel like she was their babysitter (or their mother) was Natasha. Black Widow, the deadly and intoxicating Russian spy, had surprised Pepper. She had expected the fabled killer of men and the breaker of hearts, but to Pepper, she was just Nat.

And while complaining about the boys, the government, and the cologne Peter had started drenching himself in, they had grown close. They’d spent many nights bonding over beers, taking midnight walks and sitting in dark corners, heads close together as they talked about the world and found solace in each other’s quiet strength.

Ultimately, Natasha had become so enamoured with Pepper that she couldn’t bear to not act further on her attraction. She started seeing Natasha outside of the Avengers Tower, they began taking one another on dates, walking through the city and kissing in the rain.

Pepper never doubted Natasha returned her affection, for what the red-haired woman didn’t express with words she proved tenfold with her actions. From the sweet smiles she reserved only for Pepper, to the way she stroked Pepper’s pale hair as she went to sleep, to the times she cared for Pepper with the utmost gentleness when the flu, work – or something else – had her down.

Both women were constantly busy. Stealing time together was often impossible and both treasured the brief and passionate encounters they had whenever they could. However, as their most recent overseas trip was proving to them both, Pepper was having trouble balancing her own needs with her desire to help Tony.  

Deep into their stay in merry old England the Avengers had holed up in the lavish suite Tony chose for himself, and they ate, drank and celebrated late into the night.

It was mere hours before the sun would rise into England’s watery skies as Pepper sat sideways and quite comfortably on a vintage leather sofa in the middle of the hubbub. She had long since lost her Givenchy heels and had her bare feet propped up in front of her. She was sipping what was probably her 8th martini, and she was happily nestled between several plush and oversized cushions.

She was wearing a somewhat crumpled blue knee-length dress which had several salsa stains on the hem from an unfortunate incident with a taco station their friendly neighbourhood Spiderman had set up on Tony’s in-room bar. Despite drinking more than a few alcoholic beverages, Pepper still had her wits about her, and she was observing the partygoers around the room with a well-trained eye.

Peter was sitting a little forlornly with his back against the couch in front of her. He had been barred from drinking any of the copious amounts of alcohol present in the suite, so he was playing a bright, flashing and inexplicably entertaining game on his smartphone.

Bruce was awkwardly enamored with two sweet-seeming young women who’d wound up at the party. He was stumbling his way through the history of the Avengers for them and blushing as they cooed over him.

Steve was sitting with Thor; the latter was steadily downing beers whilst the former had been holding the same bottle for over an hour. Pepper watched them cheer equally loudly for differing sides while they watched Wanda arm wrestle Vision. The boyfriend/girlfriend duo were sitting in front of the other two and were locked in a battle of wills. Pepper chuckled as she overheard some of the sassy insults Vision was dishing out to Wanda, who retaliated by teasing him sweetly. She also couldn’t help but notice both Thor and Steve had a few visible bruises from the grievous battle they’d survived only a few days earlier.

In the middle of the floor, seated beside each other on a random sponsor’s beanbags (that looked cheap and garish amongst the swanky surroundings), was the woman who completed Pepper’s heart, and their resident master of archery. Nat and Clint were playing an intense game of Mario Kart on a ridiculously wide flat screen TV, and the ferocity, though meant in good fun, had reached a semi-violent level of competition.  

Pepper watched Natasha ribbing Clint and fighting him off as he attempted to knock the controller from her hands to stop her from beating him. It was cute. In fact, it was almost moving to watch their easy-going and good-natured fighting. For two such broken people, especially Nat with her lifelong history of being used, to have such trust and treasured friendship was quite a thing to witness.

After she’d drawn her eyes away from her lover and their friend, Pepper noticed that Tony was no longer present at the party. She scanned the room again, and sat up quickly, immediately concerned. She placed her unfinished martini on the floor and swung her legs off the sofa.

She got up and looked in the various rooms throughout the suite. Her eyebrows knit into a tighter and tighter frown as she ran out of places to look for her friend. She wondered if maybe he’d just left the party with some British beauty and maybe things were fine until she reached the private bathroom off Tony’s bedroom. She opened the door and glanced inside to make sure he wasn’t there before stopping dead in her tracks.

“Oh my god, Tony!” Pepper ran forward and dropped to her knees beside her friends’ body.

“Tony! Tony talk to me.” She said desperately as she shook his shoulders. He was lying still on the floor and his face was horribly pale. Within seconds she noticed the empty bottle of pills beside him on the floor. Horrified but too scared to panic, she got her thin arms underneath Tony and hauled him into a sitting position. With a considerable amount of effort, she stood up and hauled his body into the bathtub. She turned on the shower above him, relieved it almost immediately went warm, and turned him over so that he was face down. She wrapped an arm around his chest to hold him up, and without any hesitation, opened his mouth and jammed two of her fingers down his throat.

She repeated this until his body reacted and he started throwing up foaming white pills. He coughed and sputtered into the bath as the water streamed down on them both. Pepper held Tony, a few tears mixing in with the water dripping down her face, as he coughed and retched in her arms. His whole body shuddered against her as he regained consciousness and his body expelled the excessive pills he’d taken. After several minutes of this horror, Tony reached up and shut off the water. They both sat there in the bath, soaking wet and emotional as Pepper watched Tony catch his breath. Her heart beat painfully fast as she stared at him, a million thoughts hurtling through her mind.

“I didn’t want to die, Pep.” Tony said eventually, his voice riddled with pain and guilt as he looked into her watery eyes. “I just wanted to shut out the pain up here.” He finished speaking and touched his head. Pepper knew he was referring to the PTSD he’d suffered ever since he’d flown the nuke into the wormhole above New York a few years before.

“I know.” Pepper managed to get out, but she couldn’t say more, not while tears were spilling from Tony’s sweet brown eyes and onto his cheekbones. She couldn’t tell him how exhausted she was. She couldn’t tell him how much she cared about him nor could she tell him how emotionally drained she was from being his constant support. She didn’t know how to balance the two.

“I’m sorry, Pep.” Tony said, wiping his eyes and looking away from her, shame radiating clearly from his entire figure. “I’m so sorry.”

Pepper still didn’t know what to say, so she just took his hand in hers and squeezed it.

“I’m going to go to bed now.” Tony said after a moment, sniffing as he got up.

“Shouldn’t we take you to a hospital?” Pepper asked, finding her voice as she too stood up.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., run medical diagnosis.” Tony said aloud as he stepped from the bath. The plate on his chest glowed as F.R.I.D.A.Y. ran through his symptoms and concluded that hospitalization was not necessary, but recommended hydration and rest.

Pepper wasn’t sure how Tony had managed to programme his AI to lie so specifically, but nodded her acknowledgement and didn’t argue. She was too tired. Instead she grabbed a towel off the wall rack. and dried her wet face, hair and dress as best she could. Her heart and mind both felt as though overwhelming pressure was crushing them, and she wondered if she might be in shock over the whole situation. Once she’d put Tony safely into bed, she gave him one final hug, holding him tight as she did so. She felt like she might be losing her own mind, but what mattered most to her was that he was keeping his.

She sat beside him until she thought he was asleep and then quietly left the room. She needed some air and a moment away from the situation, so she could process everything that had just happened.

Pepper re-entered the main suite visibly shaken. Luckily for her the party was still in full swing, and she felt sure she could escape the room without anyone noticing her puffy, red eyes or her shaking hands. She made a beeline for the door to the hall. The loud music and sounds of Mario Kart masked her quick steps as she walked close to the wall, keeping her eyes down. She made it to the door undetected, and grasping the ornate handle with a sigh of relief, she slipped outside into the cooler air of the empty hallway. As she closed the door, her eyes caught Natasha’s for moment. Her lover had turned away from her game and was watching her expressionlessly. Pepper held her gaze for a moment. She almost called out to Nat, but she bit her lip and closed the door instead. Fresh tears pricked her eyes as Pepper realized if she tried to talk to Nat about her troubles, it would just be a one-sided conversation.

Pepper walked down the hallway, headed to her own room for privacy, but the vision of Tony’s lifeless body in the bathroom, and of the subsequent struggle to get him breathing again, overwhelmed her. Before she knew what was happening, she collapsed against a wall and slid down to the floor. She drew her knees up and rested her arms on them. before burying her head and crying in earnest.

Sobs wracked Pepper’s body for what felt like eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, as she tried to process everything she’d just been through. Her tears were interrupted by a cool hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Nat crouched in front of her, concern vivid in her wild, green eyes.

“Pepper, what’s happened?” Natasha asked, her deep voice soft as she tried to reach out to her love.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry,” Pepper snapped before she could stop herself. “I’ll be fine.”

She attempted to dry her eyes and fixed Nat with the best level stare she could manage. “I just got a bit emotional that’s all.”

Nat looked hurt by Pepper’s dismissal, and the blonde woman immediately felt contrite, but Nat had already removed her hand and risen to her feet.

“Okay then,” Nat said coldly, her expertise in masking emotions stained her voice perfectly with disinterest. She turned and walked away from Pepper, going not in the direction of the party but toward her own bedroom.

Regret piled painfully on top of Pepper’s already disarrayed emotions, so she looked away quickly. She couldn’t bear watching Nat leave, knowing it was her who had sent her away.

Pepper sniffed and brushed her hair out of her face as another wave of tears washed over her. Her guilt over Nat was bad, but it was nothing compared to the responsibility she felt for Tony’s wellbeing. He’d been a part of her life for so long, he was her closest friend. She the only one who was a part of all of his business and invention. She was the only person besides Tony who had access to F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s controls, and quite frankly, she didn’t want to imagine a life that he wasn’t in. But at the same time, Tony’s struggles were draining her. The guilt she felt over admitting that was crushing, but she didn’t know what else she could do to help him, and she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to carry on as they were. She didn’t think she could a handle a repeat of the events in the bathroom.

Exhausted but unable to stop the tears, Pepper rested her head back on her arms and continued to cry. At some point, she became aware of another presence in front of her, but she didn’t look up. She couldn’t bear to look at anyone else right now.

“Pepper, I was just with Tony.” Steve Rogers’ voice was gentle. “That must have been very hard for you.”

Pepper cried harder as Steve tried to comfort her. She desperately wanted to admit her feelings aloud to someone. She hoped sharing the burden would lessen the load. She wanted it to be Nat she confided in, but she’d already ruined that possibility, and Steve was here. At least she knew he would listen.

“It’s becoming so difficult. I care about him, but I can only take so much.” Pepper wailed, her face still buried in her knees.

“You’ve done all you can, you’ve done more than enough.” Steve said as he tried to comfort the Avengers one-woman-support-system as best he could. His awkwardness was obvious as he placed one his large hands over her small ones and squeezed them gently.

“Who decides what’s enough?” Pepper demanded, her watery eyes flashing as she looked up at Steve, more desperation than anger written across her face. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened. If Tony did anything…” Pepper’s narrow shoulders heaved as another huge sob escaped her. “I couldn’t bear it if it was me who failed him.”

Despite feeling somewhat helpless, Steve moved from his kneeling position to sit beside Pepper and wrap an arm around her. “You’ve never failed him.”

Further down the hall and hidden in shadow, Nat stood silently. Tears pooled in her green eyes as she watched her lover suffering. Cold bonds tightened around her heart, and guilt welled up inside her as she realized Pepper felt more comfortable talking about her struggles with Steve than with her. Nat didn’t want to admit it was her own failure to open up that had Pepper turning to others for comfort and support, but deep inside, she knew it was true.

As Steve did his best with Pepper, Natasha slipped away and entered her hotel room. Once inside she slipped out of her partywear and walked naked into the sparkling white ensuite. She glanced at her pale body and tear-stained face in the mirror before she turned on the open waterfall shower. She immediately stepped into the strong stream of water, ignoring the goosebumps that rose along her skin in protest at the icy temperature. She held up her face to the jets and let her makeup and tears wash away. She stood under the water until it grew hot then soaped her skin generously. She stood for a long while, brooding under the hot water before she rinsed away the foamy bubbles. Her mind drifted as she washed her glistening red hair. Her stoic warrior brain tried to push away her fears about her relationship with Pepper, but the better-adjusted part of herself pointed out that she should deal with the issue now before it escalated and one of them just walked away.

Eventually, Nat shut the shower off and wrapped herself in a soft towel. She made quick work of drying herself off before climbing into the grand bed in the center of the bedroom. She pulled the thick covers over her head and buried herself in the comfort of the crisp sheets. She knew Pepper was struggling with the toll of taking care of Tony, but Nat hadn’t reached out to her before. She’d just observed and stayed silent. Why had she done that? Natasha knew the answer, but she refused to admit it even to herself as she clutched one of the many pillows in her bed tightly.

Part of her was still telling herself to go back out there and find Pepper, as she drifted to sleep.

Hours later, Pepper knocked on Nat’s door softly. It was barely after dawn and she wasn’t sure if her love would be awake yet. Pepper wanted Natasha. She wanted to be held by Nat’s strong arms and feel her soft skin against her own. Admittedly Pepper felt a little better about the Tony situation after talking to Steve late into the night, but now she was desperate to apologize to Nat. She wanted to hold her close and whisper sweet nothings to her until all there was between them was love and bliss.

Inside the room, Natasha was already awake. She’d fallen asleep with the curtains open and the first streaks of violet across the horizon had roused her from her light and somewhat restless sleep. She got up from her bed, wrapped herself in a fluffy white bathrobe and padded softly to the door.

She opened it and wasn’t surprised to find Pepper on the other side. Inwardly, she was relieved that Pepper was there. She was hopeful that maybe things weren’t as bad as they’d felt when she’d gone to sleep. Outwardly she remained unreadable, refusing to allow her feelings to show until she could assess the situation further.

Both women felt like they’d let the other down, and both women felt hurt by each other’s actions in one way or another. And yet there hadn’t been a major fight or any place to pinpoint other than Pepper’s dismissal of Nat when she’d tried to comfort her that night.

“May I come in?” Pepper said after several moments of squirming under her girlfriend’s cool stare. Natasha clearly wasn’t going to initiate their conversation.

Nat nodded and held the door open wider. She shut it behind Pepper after she entered and they both walked toward the bed. They were awkward, tension slowly filled the room. Despite having shared Nat’s bed many times, Pepper sat at the end as the redhead climbed back under her warm comforter. Almost unconsciously Natasha drew her covers up to her chin, subsequently putting up a barrier between her and Pepper.

They sat uncomfortably for a few moments before Pepper took a deep breath and began.

“I’m sorry I turned you away last night.” Pepper bit her lip and met Nat’s intense green gaze with her piercing blue one. She continued by recounting what had happened with Tony, and explained that sometimes she felt she couldn’t confide in Nat. After a small hesitation, she added that it was because she felt it would just be a one-sided conversation since Nat almost never expressed her feelings aloud.

Natasha sat in silence as Pepper talked. After she finished, Nat took a minute to collect herself before she replied. Much as she had feared, the communication breakdown was her fault. As hurt as she’d been when Pepper had sent her away in the hallway the night before, Natasha couldn’t deny that it was her own reluctance to open up that was driving them apart.

She started by telling Pepper how sorry she was for everything she’d gone through the night before, followed by things more personal than she usually liked to say.

“I’ve seen how much you have been there for Tony, and I should have mentioned it before but I’m going to mention it now.” Nat squared her shoulders and took one of Pepper’s hands. “I’m worried you won’t ever be able to prioritize your own needs over Tony’s.”

Nat stopped and summoned all of her courage. Which somehow was more difficult when facing the woman she loved than when confronting a powerful foe. with her eyes lowered she practically whispered her insecurities aloud. “And that you won’t be able to prioritize me.”

Hearing Nat admit her own feelings moved Pepper deeply. In fact, it felt as though her heart a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. If she had any tears left, she might even have cried with joy. She shuffled forward across the bed and pulled Natasha, who went willingly, into her arms.

“I promise you will always be my priority,” Pepper said fiercely, hugging her love close and pressing a kiss against her hair. “I want you, and I want you more than anything else.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Natasha choked out, warm relief flooding her as she returned Pepper’s embrace and breathed in her sweet perfume. After a few minutes she pulled away and caught Pepper’s eye again. “But I want you to trust me, to talk to me. I may not be perfect at communicating and opening up, but I can’t try unless you give me the opportunity.”

Pepper nodded and sniffed a little. “I promise to try harder. Will you do the same?”

“Yes.” Natasha took her hand and kissed it gently before holding it between both of hers. “Now, can we get out of here?”

After a few more kisses and once they’d stopped to get dressed, Pepper took Natasha to find some breakfast. Later they left the hotel to spend the day together exploring old castles and cathedrals around the countryside. They rented a car instead of taking a Stark Industries chauffeured vehicle, since they wanted to spend time together alone. Being away from everyone else was refreshing, and quite freeing, especially for Pepper. Things were still a little tense between them, but the awesome beauty of the places they visited quickly overshadowed everything else. It wasn’t that either woman held resentment, it was just the tension that often accompanied making up when each person tried particularly hard not to ruin the new peace. However, throughout the day Pepper was determined to show Nat how much she cared about her and trusted her. Natasha too returned these overtures and soon they were sneaking kisses behind various statues, giggling together as they hid from tour guides and their customers.

After they’d spent almost an hour looking around the magnificent cathedral that was their last stop of the day, Pepper steered her lover in the direction of an old wooden door behind an ancient organ.

 “Where are we going?” Nat almost sounded irritated, but if one listened closely, they could hear the tinge of anticipation in her low, husky voice.

“Don’t you trust me?” Pepper asked coyly, doing her best to be sexy. And her best to put the tenseness between them behind her as she reached out and took her girlfriend’s cool hand in her warm one.

“I don’t trust anybody.” Natasha responded lightly. Her playful tone helping her girlfriend ignore the dark inflection of her words. She and Pepper both seemed content to ignore the inappropriate usage of trust for humor after their fight earlier. Maybe they both just wanted to keep the mood light.

Both women were alert as they crept down the badly-lit stairs under the centuries-old cathedral. Excitement swirled in the darkness as the women descended below the holy halls above them and into the ancient and mysterious catacombs below. Pepper led her lover into a large room lit with dozens of candelabras. Their low burning candles cast most of the room into shadows, cobwebs hung in the corners and a chill draft whispered across the floor.

Piles of rubble were mixed in with stacks of old bibles and random antique treasures. Their sparkle was dulled by years of dust, but they still glinted faintly as Natasha eyed the cryptic location dubiously.

“Not the hottest location we’ve seen on this trip.” Natasha commented, raising an eyebrow as a skinny rat scuttled past them, startling her girlfriend.

“It will have to do I’m afraid.” Pepper responded, concern and apprehension furrowing her pale brows and stepping closer to Natasha. It was ironic that it was her who was uncomfortable with their surroundings when it was she who had led her more stoic and seemingly unbothered other half underground to their present environment.

Natasha squeezed Pepper’s hand and nudged her gently. “What could be so important that you’ll sacrifice your hygiene standards to be in this place?” Her question was playful. She herself, a well-trained spy with a truly dark history, wasn’t in the least concerned by the dungeon-esque surroundings. She’d been in many more dire locations. She couldn’t help but find herself genuinely intrigued by Pepper’s motivation to leave her glamorous hotel room and enter this dark and damp place below the surface.

“Well, a little peace and quiet might have motivated me.” Pepper admitted, biting her lip as she turned around and enveloped Natasha in her long, slender arms. “I’ve almost forgotten what alone time is like.”

“Well if you’d like to be alone, I can oblige you.” Natasha said with a coy smile, pulling out of Pepper’s embrace and pretending to turn away from her.

“Don’t you dare!” Pepper exclaimed, a look of panic crossing her face as she lunged after her laughing girlfriend and pulled her back against her own body. “I meant alone time _with_ you.”

Pepper had been truly shaken to the core by the dramatic night she’d had, and she’d felt almost sick with disappointment in herself that she hadn’t gone to Nat about her problems. She did trust Nat, and she wanted to prove it. So, she’d brought her lover down to a place entirely out of her own comfort zone. A place without her job, without the Avengers, and without Tony.

Here under the grand cathedral above them, Pepper was going to show Natasha how much she loved her. She wasn’t going to tell her with her words. No, she was going to use her body to express the depth of her affection to Nat.

“Mmm.” Natasha moaned low in her throat as Pepper pressed a hard kiss into her mouth and held her close. Their bodies were pressed against one another as they swayed on the spot and showered each other in warm, delicious kisses.

“Let’s get some of this stuff out of the way.” Pepper murmured wickedly. She hooked her fingers under Nat’s shirt then pulled it up and over her head. Pepper noticed her smirk a little as she tossed the shirt aside and ran her fingers tantalizingly across Nat’s bare skin. Pepper pressed her thumbs into the soft parts of her collarbones and massaged her neck and shoulders gently. Pepper felt her shiver beneath her hands as she lowered her mouth to Nat’s pale breasts and began kissing the soft flesh above her black satin bra. Still using her mouth to leave hot wet kisses, Pepper reached behind Nat and unclasped her bra.

Natasha slid the bra off of her arms and let it fall to the ground. She arched her back with pleasure when Pepper moved her hands to encase her large breasts. She moaned aloud as Pepper pressed her rough tongue against her hardened nipples and suckled and tongued them expertly.

Not wanting to miss out on seeing her lover’s delicious body, Natasha made quick work of unbuttoning Pepper’s blouse. Despite having to do so at an awkward angle, she soon had the top half of Pepper’s body naked. Natasha placed quick and gentle kisses on her girlfriend’s lips and brought her own hands up to cup Pepper’s small, gloriously soft breasts.

They stood together, swaying a little as they pressed against one another. They ran their hands over each other’s warm skin and enjoyed the familiarity of their bodies. Pepper was narrow and had small pert breasts whereas Natasha had supple curves and her own breasts were round and heavy. Each of them enjoyed exploring the other’s body and delighted in their differences. Natasha’s body looked and felt incredibly sexy to Pepper. And she ignited Nat’s excitement with her own quiet allure.

Natasha’s hands soon moved downward. Her dominant side came out to play as she spun Pepper round and held her close from behind. She pressed her bare chest against Pepper’s warm back and wrapped an arm around her waist. Nat caressed one of Pepper’s breasts with her thumb and gently teased her hard nipple. She held her still and slipped her other hand down inside Pepper’s waistband.

Pepper’s breath hitched as Nat’s hand went inside her underwear and pressed against her pelvic bone. Both women moaned low and soft as Natasha slipped her fingers down into Pepper’s warmth and cupped her mound. She squeezed gently before curling her fingers and pushing two of them up into Pepper’s hot wetness. Pepper arched her back against Nat’s body and raised her arms up in a luxurious stretch that extended the tingles radiating from between her thighs. She put her hands behind her and grabbed a hold of Natasha’s curls tightly.  Her inner walls tightened around Nat’s fingers as her erogenous zones were aroused exquisitely. She writhed a little and tightened her grip on Nat’s flaming hair as the other woman massaged her inner core and stimulated her sensitive nub.

Both women breathed heavily as Nat held Pepper tight and ground into her from behind with delicious friction. Nat fingered Pepper with exceptional talent. The attention Nat paid to her clitoris was intoxicatingly good. Pepper went a little weak at the knees when Nat simultaneously pushed another finger inside her, pressed her hot mouth into Pepper’s neck, and sucked on her skin with a burning intensity.

Soon Pepper was almost collapsing under the intensity with which Nat ravished her, so the redhead moved them back until she found an old bench. She sat on it and pulled Pepper down onto her lap. Natasha sat with her back against the cold wall with Pepper’s warm body pressed hard against her front and one of her hands still deep inside her. Pepper writhed around on Nat’s lap until with a muffled cry of exhilaration she came. Her inner walls clamped and released with spasm after spasm around Nat’s fingers. Pepper arched her back and voiced her pleasure aloud. She had vague concerns that how loudly she moaned would be overheard by any unfortunate bystanders upstairs, but she ignored it with blissful abandon.

Pepper didn’t waste time after her orgasm. She was still tingling and shivering in delicious elation when she lifted herself off of Nat to stand up. Pepper turned away and peeked back at her girlfriend over her shoulder. She kicked off her heels and then, whilst maintaining over-the-shoulder eye contact, she shimmied out of her jeans and underwear. Pepper bit her lip, turned around and stood in her naked glory in front of Nat for a moment. She knew her pale and freckled skin looked stunning in the soft candlelight. And she wanted her lover to drink it all in before she began pleasuring her. She’d allowed steamy kisses and talented fingers to distract her from her mission to show Nat how much she loved her. And now Pepper was feeling confident, sexy and ready to return the exquisite orgasm Nat had just given her.

With a coy smile, Pepper approached Natasha and pressed a hot kiss against her forehead. Slowly, agonizingly, she worked her way down Nat’s body. Pepper could taste Nat’s clean skin and hear her heart beating rapidly as she placed burning kisses on Nat’s mouth, throat and shoulders. She stopped to graze her teeth across the sensitive divot above Nat’s collarbone, smiling into her skin as the redhead shuddered and moaned aloud. Pepper moved downward, stopping to pay attention to each of Nat’s nipples before kissing her way down to her abdomen, leaving a wet trail behind her. From there Pepper lowered her kisses deliciously slowly. She pressed her tongue against Natasha’s skin until she reached her pants. She knelt down, moved close to Nat’s nether regions, and pretended to unzip Natasha’s jeans before pulling away with a giggle. Natasha growled low in her throat and gave her a reproachful look as Pepper instead removed Nat’s boots. Pepper made her wait for further attention as she discarded the boots, then removed Nat’s jeans and slowly pulled them off her legs.

Pepper then took Nat’s knees in her hands and spread her legs. She caught Nat’s eye and looked up at her as she shuffled forward and put her hands on Natasha’s hips to hold her still. Pepper kept looking up at her visibly aroused lover and used her teeth to remove Nat’s underwear tantalizingly slowly. Once she pulled them off with her mouth, Pepper paused to inhale their heady scent before she tossed them onto the floor. She admired the neatly shaven and somewhat swollen lips between Natasha’s spread thighs as she stood up and stretched languidly. She leaned over and ran her fingers up Nat’s legs as she kissed her again, this time slipping her tongue into Nat’s warm mouth. Pepper ended the kiss reluctantly and sat down beside Natasha on the bench. She looked over at her lover and tapped her own thigh expectantly. Without hesitation Natasha stood up, turned until she faced Pepper, and straddled her lap willingly. Natasha practically purred as Pepper wrapped her arms around her and continued kissing her passionately.

Pepper grasped Natasha’s round buttocks and squeezed them while invading Natasha’s warm, wet mouth with her tongue.

Insanely turned on by the slow and deliberate euphoria Pepper was putting her through, Natasha found herself whimpering into Pepper’s mouth and writhing around where she sat. Natasha had her legs on either side of Pepper, and her inner core dripped and ached for stimulation against the blonde’s creamy thighs.

Pepper let Nat writhe in what she could tell must be delicious, if frustrating, arousal for a few more moments before she continued her sensuous attack on Nat’s senses. Pepper took Nat’s hands and lifted them up into the air. Then she ran her hands up and down her arms, lingering at Nat’s wrists and inner elbows to trail her fingernails across the nerve-filled skin. Natasha was almost keening with pleasure, her whole body quivering as Pepper assaulted her erogenous zones with overwhelming zest. Her mouth and fingers caressed Nat’s earlobes, her scalp, the soft places behind her knees, her throat, and Nat was soon wailing and writhing in Pepper’s lap.

Natasha felt like her whole body was on fire with raging euphoria and exhilarating passion. She was bursting with lust, but every time she tried to stimulate herself, Pepper swatted her hands away from her swollen entrance. Pepper kept up her erotic teasing until Natasha was literally dripping onto Pepper’s thighs where she desperately ached for attention.

It wasn’t until Pepper felt satisfied she’d covered every inch of Nat’s body besides the mound between her legs that Pepper finally moved her hands downward. Her own body tingled with the anticipation and power of what she was doing to her lover as she decided to give Natasha what she clearly desperately desired. She ran her fingers down Nat’s sides, down her hips, across her thighs and then all the way to her wet and hungry mound. Quickly and succinctly, Pepper inserted fingers inside Nat, entering her slick wetness easily, and used her thumb to begin a talented and superb onslaught of rapture against Natasha’s sensitive nub.

For several minutes, there was nothing but heaving breasts, writhing bodies and breathy moans as Pepper worked Nat into a frenzy of erotic pleasure and eventually had her spilling over physically and emotionally.

Natasha practically screamed as her erotic torture ended with a mind-blowing orgasm. She shouted Pepper’s name over and over again as she thrust onto Pepper’s hand wildly. She threw her head back and relished the waves of ecstasy as they rocked her body with acute perfection.

Pepper held Natasha close as the redhead finished her orgasm. She squeezed Nat’s buttocks briefly before holding her tight as their mouths found each other’s for a few final, lingering kisses. They clung to one another, breathing heavily until Natasha collapsed against her and rested her head on Pepper’s shoulder.

“I love you,” Natasha whispered lovingly into Pepper’s neck. The extreme emotional closeness she felt to Pepper at this moment mixing with her sexual satisfaction in a dizzying array of love and pleasure.

Pepper’s heart filled as she heard those words and a ridiculously, goofy smile erupted on her face as she hugged Nat even closer to her. “I love you too.”

 

**Author's Note:**

>  **Daphneblithe:** : Ah isn't this such a WONDERFUL story? SO much tenderness! I am so thrilled jeffthemermaid chose my art and brought it to such heartwarming life! Thanks so much also to the wonderful RBB Mods for running this event again :) 
> 
> (I am [on twitter](https://twitter.com/daphneblithe) and I humbly have other art, including a 21-pieces-of-art-some-NSFW, eerie Stucky romance, [Love Among the Ruins](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16929495/chapters/39777129)! :) )


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